Open-hearth furnace



July 1, 1930. l B, P, WHEELER l 1,769,362

OPEN HEARTH FURNACE Filled June 1'7, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 July l, 1930. P WHELER 1,769,362

OPEN HEARTH FulwAclal Filed June 17, 1921 5 sheets-sheet 3 Patented Julyi, 1930," i l I BRADLEY?, WHEELER,

or DULUT'H mrnsoma OPEN-HEARTH -rUnN "'Appiicaaon, meh June rz, id21.. seriai 15h.. 478,267.

o This inventionfrelat' proved open hearth and also to afniethodfd perating such furnaces. More 'lptptifticularly`V it` is l, directed to a means and method 'adapted to produce a quick-burning'hot-ame adjacent A.the incoming orts of-theffurnace whereby the full sur ace of the metal'bath is acted on.

- As is well knowninfo en .hearth practice,

such furnaces aredou le-ended and provided at each end,.lwith regenerative chambers, slagA pockets, 'and air and gas uptakes `and ports. The 4furnace is periodically reversed in its operation so that each end is alternately the incoming and outgoing end ofthe furnace. The'incomi'ng air and gas are heated to a high temperature by passing through checker chambersbefore entering the furnace, and the heat of the furnace flame lis thus increased.

In furnaces of this character as now generally constructed, the air and lgasy enter through separate ports at each end of the melting chamber, the air and gas intermingling as they enter the furnace and combustion there taking place.l However, this intermingling'takes place relatively slowly 'fso that the full effect of combustion is not "afforded until some. distance from'the incoming port. This 'results in inadequate heating of the portion of the bath adjacent the incoming port and thus does vnot allow the furnace to operateA to its maximum eiiiciency.` A further diiiculty lies in the fact that since the combustion takes place well into the melting chamber, a portion of the flame tends to sweepl through the outgoing end of the furnace. This results not only in great loss of heat but also wears away the outgoing ports and passages and materially decreases the life of the furnace. y

It is an object of the present invention to so introduce the air and gas as to cause quick combustion adjacent the incoming ports whereby the full surface of the metal bath is operated upon at all times.

It is a further object to provide means introducing heated air into the midst of the 50 gas flow and thus to increase the rapidity of the intermixture of air and gas.

Other` 'and 'further'objects will appear as the description roceeds. v

Broadly, my lnvention comprises the adv dition to open hearth furnaces of usual type of an auxiliary air passage leading'from the main heated air passages to .the gas passage. A blower. may be rovided to draw theair through this auxiliary passage and force it under pressureto the gas passage. In its 'preferable'form air isv drawn from the air slag pocket and introduced into, the gas uptake at the point where the uptake turns into the gas port, and in substantial alignment with'that port. However, the essential feature is that heated air is drawn through an auxiliary passage and delivered tothe gas passa-ges, and this air may be taken if desired from the air checker or any `portion of the heated air passages and it may be delivered to the vgas passages at varying points as desired.

I have illustratedcertain preferred em bodimentsl of myinvention in the accom' panying drawings, in which- Figure 1- is a vertical section showing one end of an open hearth furnace with my invention applied thereto;

iFigure 2 is a horizontal section showing the device of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2,4 bul` showingl a modified form of the device; an Y.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view illustrating the entrance of the auxiliaryair passage of Figure 3 into'the gas uptake.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 2, the open hearth furnace shown comprises the melting chamber 5, gas portG, gas uptakes 7, and air uptakes "8. As best shown in Figure 1,

thesair uptakes 8 lead from the air slag pocket 9. I provide the auxiliaryair passage 10, the lower endof which enters the air slag pocket 9. This'passage 10 leads to the blower 11 and the discharge pipe 12from the blower is lead at 13 into the upper end of 'the gas uptakes 7 in substantial alignment with the gas port 6.' The air uptakes 8 are joined at 14 above the gas port 6 and the usual air port 14 encircles the gas port.

The damper lf3 is provided in' the passage the blower 20'` the discharge pipe 21 is ledig into the gasuptake at the angle shown 12 adjacent its end: 13.

the auxiliary air passage 19 leads from the.

air chamber 16 to the blower 2O andl from Figure This pipe 21 is also provided with a damper 22. In the' operation of either form of the device, when the end of the furnace is'usedas an incoming end, the blower is put in operation and it draws a certain amouiitfof. the

preheated air from eitherthe checker chamber or slag pocket, as the casemay be, and delivers that air under forced draft to the gas passages. This air is at a temperature in the 'neighborhood of 2060 degrees Fahrenheit,fand the blowers and passages will be suitably water-cooled and linedifn a manner necessary to take care of this tem 'er'atu're The dampers 15 and 22 are provide ymainly i y for'the purpose of lpreventing the highly heated outgoing: gases from' entering` the auxiliary passages upon'tlie outgoing end They may, however,'also be used to regulate the -force and amount of of the furnace.

the incoming air.

The air is introduced inthe midst ofthe gas stream, thoroughly mixes withthe gas,

1 and combustionquickly takes place, and the flame begins immediately adjacent the gas port. The amount of air put through the t auxiliary passages vis,'of course, not -suicient for complete combustion of all the gas, but the air and gas stream issuing from the gas port is inclosed upon its sides and the top by the air coming upthe usual uptakesl 8. IVhenthe auxiliary stream of air is `un-v -der' pressureit tends to draw -with it the gas from the uptake and this increases the velocity of the gas. For certain purposes,

j in order t0 secure a more complete mixture and greater aspirating effect onthe'gas, it

may be desirable to use an auxiliary air passage entering at an angle as shown' in Figures 3 and 4. It is to'be understood, of course, that Athe production and location of the introduction of the auxiliary .airlinto the gas stream is 'independentof whether /the air is vwithdrawn from theairfslag pocket, the air checkers, or 'other parts of the lair passages.v lThe- 'air' may' bev withdrawn -or introduced at ,points4 most suitable'for the particular installation involved and most desirable for accomplishing the exact results desired. The essential feature-1s 'provide a suction to the gas enters the melting chamber, so that adequatemixture and qx'uick combustion take place.

I claim: 1 `1. A regenerative open lhearth furnace having a combined -air and gas port and air ports at each end thereof, air 'flues communicating with said air ports, gas ues communicating withA said' combined'air and gas ports, airlductsl at eachend ofsaid furnace communicating with said air flues and .combined .air and gas ports so'asto allowair-@from 'said a1 r iues to'pass into said coml :blned air and gas ports, and means for 1nducing a flow of air from said air lues t0 said'combined air and gas ports.

2. A regenerative open hearth furnace havingV acombined Aair and gas port and air ports at each end thereof, air flues communi- `eating -with vsaid airports, -gas iiues communicating with said combined air.v and gas ports, lair ductsat each end of said furnace communicating with s aid air flues and com- .bined air and gas ports so as to allow air from said air iiues to pass into said com'- binedan` and gas ports, means for inducmga flowof air from, said airl fiues to said com-v bined air and gas ports, and meansV for. vary- Iing the flow ofair to said combined air and ports at 'each' end thereof, air flues com- `municating with said air ports, gas flues communicating with said `combined air and gas ports, air ducts at each end of said furlhaving a combined air andV gas port and air nace communicating with said air fines and combined air and gas ports so as to allow air from said 'air iues vto pass into said combined air and gas ports, and blowers in said air ductsto the rear of said gas ports, said blowers being adapted: to have a flow of eject the mixture of air and gas from said combined air and` gas ports; and also to draw the gas and 'air into said ports.

- 4. A regenerative open hearth furnace having a combined air and gas port at each end thereof and air ports at each side 'of said combined air and gas ports, gas uptake i fues 1for'said combined air and gas ports, air uptake -lues for said air ports, and auxiliary viiu'idnnder pressure therethroughso as to airways leadingfrom said air uptake ues to said gas uptake fiuesv to provide a combined air and gas supply to'said combinedair and gas ports, and means for inducing a' flow of air through said auxiliary airways intofslaidgas uptake flues. Signed at Dul th, Minnesota, this .9th day ofJune, 1921.

Y BRADLEY P. WHEELER.

that a considerable volume of heated air is introduced into the gas at a point before 95 3,. A regenerative open l.hearth furnace 

